Have you suffered significant investment losses due to the negligence or misconduct of a UBS financial advisor? You’re not alone — and you have legal options.
Winning securities and FINRA arbirtation attorney Robert Wayne Pearce has a proven track record of holding UBS Financial Services accountable through FINRA arbitration, securing over $13 million in combined awards for clients in his last four cases alone.
From unsuitable “hold” recommendations and overconcentrated portfolios to botched zero-cost collar strategies and risky prepaid equity collar transactions, UBS has repeatedly failed to protect investor interests. In each of these recent arbitrations, UBS refused to offer a settlement or participate in mediation — and lost every time.
In the last four arbitrations, Mr. Pearce obtained awards of $6,138,000 (January 2026), $5,887,498, $764,000 (December 2025), and $552,000 for his clients. In each case, UBS failed to offer any settlement and refused to attend a mediation to try and settle the dispute. A brief description of each case follows:
FINRA Arbitration Award $6,138,000
This FINRA arbitration against UBS Financial Services, Inc. (the broker dealer) and UBS Securities, Inc. (the investment bank)began with a recommendation that the UBS customer take out a loan and exercise his Compass Inc. real estate agent stock options Pre-IPO for shares subject to a six-month lock up and an astronomical tax liability. One dumb recommendation led to another, a misleading investment strategy called a “risk reversal” option strategy, the opposite of what one would have expected, a zero cost collar. Finally, in an attempt to avoid an imminent disaster, UBS advisor recommended pre-paid equity collars that resulted in a loss of more than 90% of the Compass shares received upon the exercise of the real estate agent options at the beginning of the relationship. After two weeks of hearings, the UBS customer was awarded $6,138,000 in compensatory damages, interest, and costs.
FINRA Arbitration Award $5,887,498
Jose E. Blanco Garrido, et al. v. UBS Financial Services Inc. of PR, et al.
This FINRA arbitration against UBS Financial Services, Inc. and UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico involved the overconcentration of Mr. Blanco’s family’s assets in Puerto Rico municipal bonds and closed-end bond funds. The arbitrators awarded substantially all of the Blanco family losses and over $1.5 million prejudgment interest and all of the litigation expenses, $175,000, arising out of an unsuitable recommendation to “hold” their Puerto Rico securities when market conditions were perilous. The arbitration award was entered in favor of the Blanco family after 40 hearing sessions.
FINRA Arbitration Award $764,000
Sean Barni v. UBS Financial Services, Inc.
In this FINRA arbitration, an ex-Tesla employee holding a concentration of Tesla stock and employment options hired UBS investment advisors to manage his portfolio and protect the concentrated Tesla position from losses while it was being sold in a tax efficient manner. Despite the UBS employee’s awareness of the fact a zero-cost equity option collar could have been successfully executed on multiple occasions to accomplish that financial objective, they failed to execute and implement the collar. The arbitrators made a full award of all damages with interest accruing at 10% from the date the advisors were specifically instructed by Mr. Barni to execute the collar plus all attorney fees and all costs requested.
FINRA Arbitration Award $552,000
Pamela Joy Borders, Individually and Trustee v. UBS Financial Services, Inc.
This FINRA arbitration involved a Texas resident who claimed her financial advisor at UBS Financial Services, Inc. made unsuitable “hold” recommendations, misrepresented and fully failed to disclose the risk of a highly leveraged account concentrated in the oil and gas sector. The account was overconcentrated and overleveraged and vulnerable to massive liquidations of securities to meet margin calls at fire sale prices. This arbitration resulted in an arbitration award of not only compensatory damages, but attorney fees and interest.
How Can You Tell If a Zero-Cost Collar Was Actually Implemented on Your Concentrated Stock Position?
You can tell if a zero-cost collar was actually implemented on your concentrated stock position by confirming your records show two linked options trades—a long put and a short call—with matching share quantities and the same expiration, because the collar only exists when both legs are executed.
A zero-cost collar is a hedging strategy where the put equals a downside floor and the call equals an upside cap, so the account’s objective (risk-limiting protection) must match the trades placed, the timing, and the investor’s written instructions. At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., our investment fraud lawyers review whether the advisor’s actions (trades) matched the client’s directive (instruction) and whether the firm’s supervision (oversight) aligned with the stated plan.
Key evidence includes emails or portal messages directing execution, order tickets, trade confirmations, options position statements, and notes showing concentration risk, tax constraints, and any “hold/sell” schedule. If those documents show the hedge was discussed but never placed, that gap can be the factual core of a FINRA arbitration claim for failure to follow instructions, unsuitable strategy handling, or negligent portfolio management.
What is a Prepaid Equity Collar?
A Prepaid Equity Collar (PEC) strategy allows an investor to lock-in a minimum future value for a stock position while still participating in some price appreciation and generates cash proceeds on the trade date equal to that locked-in minimum future value. It is made up of two components, an equity collar, which hedges the value of the underlying stock; and a Cash Advance, equal to the minimum hedged value of the stock. The equity collar is structured as a private transaction between the investor and investment bank, providing a payoff as if the investor had purchased a listed put option, to set the minimum future value for the stock position (Floor Price), and sold/wrote a listed call option, to set a maximum future value for the stock position (Cap Price). The put-call combination can be structured to be cashless, or the investor can pay a premium upfront to keep more upside in the value of the stock position.
Unlike put options purchased from and call options sold through an options exchange however:
- i. at no time is the investor required to deliver the underlying shares and shares will never be “called away”;
- ii. the investor has the choice of cash or share settlement at maturity and can make the decision at maturity; and
- iii. the transaction is a private transaction between the investment bank and the investor, and the transaction is highly customizable upfront with the ability to restructure during the life of the investment contract.
The proceeds received upfront equal the Cash Advance (i e, the Floor Price per share), less the financing cost on the Cash Advance, less any cost for the equity collar. The Net Upfront Proceeds can be used for any purpose, including other securities investments, and any return on the proceeds reinvestment helps offset the cost of the transaction.
These are large complex transactions that could result in substantial losses for the client if not set up with wide bands between the cap price and floor price or managed properly to avoid the share price exceeding the cap price.
Did UBS Financial Services Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?
The investment loss attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 45 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct.
The firm has extensive experience with UBS Financial Services cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable.
Investment Losses? We Can Help
Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
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